Saving Akane
by Azurite
Summary: Rather than Plum bringing Jusenkyo's secret to Nerima, it is a stranger who calls herself Hikari... *CHAPTER 3 UP*
1. Back From The Future : Act 1 - Messenger...

Saving Akane

Saving Akane  
Part 1: Back From The Future  
By Azurite [[azurite_moon@yahoo.com][1]]  
[http://www.geocites.com/azurite_moon][2]  
[http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida][3]

This fanfic, in no way, has anything to do with _Saving Silverman_ or anything like that. O.o;;  
Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama, Viz Communications, Shogakukan, Shounen Sunday, Kitty... etc. etc. Not me. But this **fic** belongs to me, so before you distribute it anywhere, please let me know. Same goes for anyone who has the sudden need to thank/congratulate/dance around/flame/hit me. You can always IM me, to save yourself time, too: AIM is Meriellen5.

This is a drama-romance, twisting the events of the final Tankubon of Ranma-- Volumes 37 and 38. I seem to be fond of doing that as of late... ^.^ Wuahahaa... 

Anything wrong with this tidy new HTML format? Do tell. I'm trying to make it simple, neat, and easy to read, compliant to Fanfiction.net's rules. The "code" used in this fic is as follows:

**Emphasis**  
_Thoughts_  
"Spoken"  
[Panda Signs]  
*Sound Effect/Action/Setting*

That's all, folks! Onwards with the story!

_**Act 1: Messengers From Jusenkyo**_

A small girl, maybe only six or seven years old, ran from the loud ka-ka'ings of a flock of very angry crows. They were dark blots along the horizon, tailing the dark-haired girl in a mass of angry caws. Two figures amongst the flock were prominent-- being several times larger than normal crows. They had almost... human figures. 

Ranma Saotome, resident martial artist of the Tokyo ward known as Nerima, watched this perplexing sight from his upside-down position on a nearby roof. 

Why was he upside down, you ask? Let's just say his bethrothed-- ah, fiancee, that is, dind't like being called "overweight".

When he spotted the young girl running away, he immediately righted himself, and caught the girl just as the crows converged to attack.

The sky was overcast and gray; the wind spoke of rains to come. Ryoga Hibiki knew he had to find shelter soon, or risk becoming someone's pork buns. Little did the Lost Boy know that he was in Nerima, home of **one** of his eternal beloveds, Akane Tendo. 

This fact became very real to him once he saw Ranma Saotome, his eternal **rival** running towards him at breakneck speed-- carrying a small bundle. Ryoga barely had time to restister that _Yes, This is Nerima!_ before Ranma yelled to him "RYOGA! Catch!" and hurtled the small bundle to him. 

Ryoga caught the bundle -a person, in fact- with precision, though the girl's legs were caught between Ryoga's arms, and she resembled something like a squished spider.   
"Aiya! I'm fragile!" 

It was at that moment that it began to rain. Ryoga groaned, and Ranma, who had been choked by the two more vicious, large winged creatures, dropped to the floor gasping, staring at the now-human boys. 

*At the Nekohanten*

The boys had dashed off into the misty rain after that, and Ranma had made his way to the nearest haven --the Nekohanten-- with the little girl, and P-chan. Once they had been settled in, and Ranma related his story, Ryoga transformed back, the girl was the focal point of conversation. 

"She Chinese, for sure." Shampoo murmured to Ranma and the others, casting a glance towards the small child. Something about her was familiar, but Shampoo couldn't put her finger on it. She sure as heck wasn't an Amazon-- she was too pudgy, and if she'd been **running away** from a battle, well...

"Perhaps those winged creatures you spoke of, Son-In-Law, were the bird people of Mount Phoenix." At this, Shampoo blinked. Weren't they just a legend? There wasn't much the younger Amazon champion knew of the legendary bird people, but if the legends were true, then there was reason enough indeed to run. 

"They were!" The girl piped up. All eyes turned on her.   
"Mr. Customer, I..." She began, and Ranma made a face. 

_Where have I heard that phrase before...?_

"That's it!" Ranma snapped his fingers, "You're..."  
"Not who you think!" The girl jumped off her chair, where she had been eating complimentary noodles, and waved her hands in Ranma's face. Ranma squatted to be level with her, and it was then he really noticed her features. She had blue eyes.

_L...Like me!_

The child looked down sadly. "I can't tell you exactly who I am. But..." She reached into her side-bag and withdrew something that made all present gasp. 

"That's..."

*Outside*

"That... baka!" The 16 year old groaned as she squeezed water from her shoulder-length scarlet hair. She groaned, trying to make out the watered-down message the Jusenkyo Guide had given her. It was still legible, but... 

What was worse? Her soaking wet clothes, ones mom had hand-sewed from imported material, the possibility of a cold, or the destruction of her entire future? Hmmm... what a hard choice...

_That brat! How dare she run off!_

"Ah-hah!" The girl rushed towards the familiar Nekohanten, intent on getting her little sister back. 

"Hey!" The scarlet-haired girl exclaimed, bursting into the Nekohanten. She was a bit surprised to not see any customers in the old Cat Cafe, but giving the fact this was 17 years in the past from her time... 

Several pairs of eyes were on the newcomer, standing soaking wet in the door. Curious expressions adorned their faces, some with eyes narrowed. Ranma must have been the most surprised of them all, for the girl was an-almost-spitting-image of his girl form. Could it be...

The small child that Ryoga and Ranma had rescued from the so-called Phoenix people dashed into the new girl's arms, crying "Onii-chan!" while knocking down a table and several chairs. 

The audience was now bewildered. Staring at the scene before them, they pointedly crossed their arms over their chests-- with the exception of Cologne, whose bug-eyes were narrowed in suspicion.   
"Please... sit down."

"Uhm..." The elder girl scratched the back of her head as she sweatdropped. "I'm Kazeya... sorry about this..." The phrase was so familiar, what with her appearance, crude dialect of Japanese... everyone's gaze now shifted to Ranma, who chuckled uncomfortably. 

"You say you are Kazeya..." Cologne prompted, once everything was back to it's... 'normal' state. The scarlet-haired girl merely nodded between shovelfuls of food, and said  
"Yeah."

Everyone, including the younger girl, promptly facevaulted. On the verge of anger, Cologne demanded to know just who Kazeya and her little sister were. Most people were still perplexed about the familial relations between Kazeya and the younger girl; the small one **had** after all, called Kazeya her older **brother**. 

"Look old ghoul, I've got plenty of time on you, so don't give me that 3000 years of Amazon crap." Everyone, especially Shampoo and Cologne, was taken aback at this flat statement. 

"Hold it-- who are you?" Ranma asked the little girl.  
"I told you, I can't--" The girl started, looking up.   
"She's Hikari." The elder thumbed, finishing up the last of her noodles. 

"Onii-chan!" Hikari squealed, tears forming in her eyes. Kazeya winced.   
"Woah... why did she call you 'Onii-chan?' I thought you guys were Chinese..." Ryoga murmured.   
"Not in the slightest. From Qinghai, China yes, but not Chinese." Kazeya explained, looking up at Ryoga with a hidden grin while she rummaged through her bag. She wiped off the item off and then showed it to everyone. 

"The Nanban mirror... but how can it be...?" Mousse adjusted his glasses to make sure he was seeing all right. Hadn't Hikari showed them that very same mirror moments before?

"Oh, Hikari-baka showed you **her** Nanban mirror?" Kazeya clicked her tongue.  
"I'm NOT a baka!" Hikari protested, fighting futiley against Kazeya's larger hand on her head. "Biii-de!" Kazeya responded, sticking her tongue out. She proceeded to give Hikari the headache of a lifetime with an oversized noogie. 

"STOP THAT!" Hikari yelled, stunning everyone into silence. Kazeya gulped and removed the offending hand from Hikari's head-- but it was too late.   
"BAKAYAROU!" Hikari yelled leaping up a good meter and a half. When the smoke cleared, a twitching Kazeya lay on the floor, her chair toppled over, and a large bump growing on her head. 

The crowd looked to Hikari now, who was wiping her hands as if having cleaned up a large mess.   
"How'd... how'd you do that?" Ranma asked, blinking. The scene was just... **so** familiar...   
"With this!" Hikari grinned proudly, producing a very familiar mallet...

Mousse chose that moment to "Ahem" and the moment was again restored to a state of semi-normalcy.   
"Why are there **two** Nanban Mirrors?" Cologne inquired.   
"Can I get some hot water first?" Kazeya asked, putting her hands behind her head.   
"Onii-ch--" Hikari started in warning.   
"Oh be quiet." Surprisingly, Hikari complied. 

When Shampoo returned with a cup of hot water, Kazeya upended it over her head. Everyone gasped as Kazeya's build changed completely from a teenaged girl's to that of a handsome young man's. As a matter of a fact, he looked like Ranma, albeit Kazeya's hair was a bit lighter, and his eyes were a hazel-brown... just like...

"Hey... who're your mom and dad, if you're from the future?"  
"Ah-ah-ah." Kazeya wagged his finger at Ranma, while using his other hand to put his hair in a ponytail. 

"**That** would be telling. Besides, you obviously have figured that me and sis' here are from the future-- and no one should know too much about their future, right?"  
"Then why are we here, Onii-chan?" Hikari asked not-too-innocently. Her eyebrow quirked up in a 'do-tell' expression, causing Kazeya to sweatdrop.

"Alright, alright. We're here to prevent a future from happening," Kazeya explained, shrugging. But his eyes betrayed him as he glanced outside to the rain.   
"We'll know that our plan has suceeded when we disappear-- or change appearances."  
"But why? What happened? And why... why are you **here**?" Ranma asked.

Hikari and Kazeya exchanged a glance. 

"In this time... an event is about to happen that will change all your futures." Hikari said mysteriously.  
"Look, we can't really explain here, and we're running out of time."  
"We're **out** of time, Onii-chan. The Phoenix people were chasing me when I got here."  
"What!? Already... Damn, that means we didn't come back soon enough..." Kazeya growled, gripping the handle pf the real Nanban mirror. There were now a few cracks on the laquered handle matching those on the mirror face. 

"Who are these Phoenix people, anyway?" Ryoga demanded. He'd barely caught a glimpse of them before Ranma had fought them, figures blurring... and then the rain had started. Being in a smaller form didn't help Ryoga any when it came to his vision-- or lack thereof. But that was the nature of his curse. The bad game hand-in-hand with the good. 

"Dangerous." Hikari stated simply. Kazeya agreed with a brisk nod, and nothing more was sad. He stood, Hikari following suit.  
"Look, Ranma, we gotta get back to the dojo. Now."

Ranma kept silent about their odd appearances, and that similarity between Hikari and Akane... with that mallet and everything. What was more, they hadn't needed any introductions at all-- both of them knew Shampoo, Mousse, Ryoga, and Ranma.... though they had referred to Cologne as 'old ghoul'. That, in itself was strange. Who were they, really?

Ranma and Ryoga followed Kazeya and Hikari outside, where the sky was predictably gray. It was not raining anymore, but judging from the wind, that would change soon. They had to hurry, before the Phoenix people came again, and caused more damage. 

The end of Part 1: Back From The Future. In the next installment of Volume 37-38 madness featuring Ranma and Co., the true identities of Hikari and Kazeya are revealed! But what happened in their time that caused them to come back? What is Hikari's secret... and what of "Plum?"

Coming up next, in "Saving Akane!" _**Act 2: The Battle for "Jusenkyo's Secret"!**_

EMAIL ME: [azurite_moon@yahoo.com][1]

   [1]: mailto:azurite_moon@yahoo.com
   [2]: http://www.geocites.com/azurite_moon
   [3]: http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida



	2. Of Plums and Water : Act 2 - The Battle ...

Saving Akane  
Part 2: Of Plums and Water  
By Azurite [azurite_moon@yahoo.com]  
http://www.geocites.com/azurite_moon  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida

This fanfic, in no way, has anything to do with Saving Silverman or anything like that. O.o;;

Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama, Viz Communications, Shogakukan, Shounen Sunday, Kitty... etc. etc. Not me. But this fic belongs to me, so before you distribute it anywhere, please let me know. Same goes for anyone who has the sudden need to thank/congratulate/dance around/flame/hit me. You can always IM me, to save yourself time, too: AIM is Meriellen5.

This is a drama-romance, twisting the events of the final Tankubon of Ranma-- Volumes 37 and 38. I seem to be fond of doing that as of late... ^.^ Wuahahaa... 

* * *

Anything wrong with this tidy new HTML format? Do tell. I'm trying to make it simple, neat, and easy to read, compliant to Fanfiction.net's rules. The "code" used in this fic is as follows:

Emphasis  
Thoughts  
"Spoken"  
[Panda Signs]  
*Sound Effect/Action/Setting*

That's all, folks! Onwards with the story!

* * *

_Act 2: The Battle for "Jusenkyo's Secret"!_

Arriving at the Tendo Dojo, the gang consisting of Ryoga, Ranma, Kazeya, and little Hikari stepped inside. 

"Oh, we have guests. Hello." Kasumi greeted, coming out of her usual 'zone' in the kitchen. She was on her knees to greet Kazeya and Hikari, who exchanged a glance and a sheepish grin. 

"Kasumi-san, you don't have to--" Hikari started.   
"How did you know her name?" Ryoga butted in.   
"I told you nimwad, we're from the future!" Kazeya growled at the Lost Boy. 

Ryoga was about to give Kazeya what for, but Hikari and Kasumi stepped in. Hikari did it literally, shoving herself between her brother and Ryoga, while Kasumi stood up and spoke.   
"Oh my... the future. What...?" Her gaze became a bit vacant with worry and wonder, but she soon shook the feeling -the dèja vû, and familiarity- away. 

"Please, come inside. You can use the furo to get dried off; it's..."  
"Upstairs and to the right; thanks Oba-san!" Hikari yelled as she ran upstairs.   
"'Oba-san?'" Kasumi repeated in confusion. 

"Little brat, always snagging the furo." Kazeya grumbled. He stepped inside, acknowledging the presence of two curious shogi players-- Mr. Tendo and Genma-panda. 

[Who's this, Ranma?] Mr. Panda's sign read.   
"That's what I'm waiting to find out, oyaji." Ranma responded with a curious gaze directed towards Kazeya with some obviousness. 

"Hey Ranma, heard you were-- woah, who's the cutie?" Nabiki paused in mid-sentence to check Kazeya out, her eyes roving over him as though he were a piece of meat.   
"Uh... hi Nabiki-san."  
"Ooh! Knows my name and has manners... I like well-informed guys. What's your name, hot stuff?" 

"Don't say anything, onii-chan." Hikari said. She toweled off her hair, while Kazeya stared at her with some shock.   
"You actually came out of the furo in less than 10 minutes!"  
"Yeah, you're one to talk, hentai."   
"Hikari..." 

Hikari just smiled.   
"Should we get down to business then? You two seem to know about us... but we..."   
Ranma and Ryoga looked pointedly at the twosome before sitting down.   
"Ranma, should I bring Akane downstairs?" Kasumi asked. "She's upstairs reading." 

"A-Akane?" Kazeya whispered. Ranma immediately glared at the newcomer who resembled him so much. No honorific, like he had applied to Kasumi and Nabiki. Just who did he think he was, anyway...?  
"P-Please." Hikari murmured to Kasumi, looking as though she were on the verge of tears. She bit them back and swallowed hard, wiping her eyes in one swift motion. 

Kasumi went upstairs, and her knocking on Akane's door was the only sound in the house for a moment.   
"Yeah, what is it, onee-chan?" Kazeya and Hikari seemed to draw in sharp breaths, even though they weren't looking up the stairs as Akane came down.   
Hikari and Kazeya had both pinched their eyes shut, so when Akane was settled down at the table with everyone else, looking at the newcomers with some curiosity, Kasumi had to tap them lightly to open their eyes. 

Hikari took one look at Akane and slammed into her arms.   
"MAMA!!!"   
Kazeya let out a low groan before sighing at the astonished audience.   
Akane was gently stroking Hikari's head, a bewildered expression on her face. She mouthed 'Mama?' to Ranma, who shrugged, as bewildered as she was. 

"Our names," Kazeya started, gesturing to Hikari to come back to his side, "Are Hikari and Kazeya Saotome." 

All eyes fell on Ranma and Akane, who suddenly blushed at the implications.  
"Yeah, well, if you haven't figured that part out by now," Kazeya said, explaining to the blank faces --Mr. Panda and Kasumi-- "We're Ranma and Akane's future kids." 

If their faces had been scarlet before, they became crimson now. Nabiki stared, a devilish grin on her face. 

"The money I could make from this info…" 

Kazeya and Hikari sweatdropped. Nabiki soon quieted, prompting Kazeya and Hikari to continue. 

Hikari stared for a moment longer at Akane, who smiled politely. She was more embarassed than she was willing to say, but, judging from Ranma's inflamed face, so was he. Their children!? From the future?

Ryoga, for his part, was gripping the carpet under his feet tightly, almost burning it with the tiny ki surges he sent through his hands. 

But... they had said they came to _change_ their timeline! So maybe I still... wait. What am I talking about? I have Akari... 

Ryoga's thoughts were a mess, so he settled for listening instead. 

Hikari reached into the little side bag she carried with her, drawing out her Nanban mirror. Kazeya did the same, so that the audience could compare the two.   
"The... the one Kazeya has still has those cracks on it. From when I stepped on it." Nabiki observed, pointing. They were still taped up, too, albeit with a fresher looking tape than the one Nabiki had last seen on the old mirror. 

"This is the real mirror; the one that sent us back in time. It's almost broken because it's so old, and been used so many times. So Hikari and I sort of thought of this as a one-way trip. It's succeed or bust, really."  
"Succeed at what?" Akane asked, tilting her head. Kazeya looked awfully familiar. But it was no wonder-- if he was her and Ranma's future son, then he got his appearance and build from Ranma... but his eyes from her. Just as Hikari's eyes were the same brilliant blue as Ranma's...

"Preventing a death." Hikari gulped. She held the mirror up for everyone to see, and minor differences-- besides the uncracked glass-- could be seen. Strange carvings covered the handle and backside of the mirror. Hikari began chanting something, and, true to her name, a strange light came from the carvings. It surrounded Hikari, until the girl before them wasn't a child any longer, but a 16 year old, looking much the same as Kazeya-- the only differences being in the hair and eye color. 

"You-You... how...?" Ranma stuttered, staring at the suddenly older Hikari before them. This was not the girl he had helped rescue from those weird Phoenix people.   
"My mirror, called the Mirror of Change, when coupled with the original Nanban, allows either me or Kazeya to age ourselves to our wills. We can become younger or older; whatever fits the situation we're in."   
"She was in her younger form to look more inconspicuous. We arrived in this time in Jusenkyo, but figured it would be best if we took on the part of the original person who came here from Jusenkyo-- Plum." Kazeya explained. 

"Jusenkyo..." Akane murmured.  
"Who's Plum?" Ryoga finally asked.   
  
_Better to pretend I'm… **interested** in this than look like an idiot later on when we all go out to fight. I just know Ranma will get me involved in this again…_

"Plum is the Jusenkyo Guide's daughter…" Kazeya started.   
"DAUGHTER!?" Ranma, Ryoga, and Soun exclaimed in surprise. When Ryoga caught Akane's wondering gaze at why **he** would be surprised at such a fact, he sat down quietly.   
"Y-Yeah… she's about the age of the girl I was… a minute ago." Hikari grinned. But she looked relieved to be 'herself' again. 

"This is my real form." Hikari continued, "I came here in my younger form because to be inconspicuous… after all, the Phoenix People wouldn't have suspected that a child would carry the—" Hikari earned a stern look from her brother, confusing the others and silencing her. 

"A lot of people have said Hikari looks like our mom." Kazeya put in for a change of subject. Hikari smiled brightly at Akane.   
"They were right."   
"But that means..." Soun started, a perplexing look on his face. 

Kazeya and Hikari nodded solemnly, their faces to the floor. Kazeya finally looked up and told everyone: "In our time, Akane is dead." 

All were quiet for what seemed like an interminable amount of time. The first one to say anything was, surprisingly, Kasumi. 

"Oh… my…" That was all she said for a long while. 

All eyes shifted from the twins to Akane, while Ranma's eyes were riveted on his fiancée alone. He couldn't imagine her... dead. How... it just wasn't possible! She couldn't... he wouldn't...

"Dead…?" Akane whispered. 

"We never knew you… we were raised by… friends of the family." Hikari explained, a sad tone in her voice. 

"I... I don't understand." Akane fumbled for words, but ended up staring at her hands, as if expecting her body to disappear any moment. 

"Not long from now, you get kidnapped and brought to China. Jusendo, China, in fact; to Phoenix Mountain." 

"Just what is this… 'Phoenix Mountain'? And who are these people after you?" Ryoga asked. Like Ranma, he had a hard time accepting the future children as truth. How could they really be Akane and Ranma's future children if Akane didn't live for another month? 

"The people are the winged creatures of Phoenix Mountain. They drink water from a spring of a drowned bird, and so are born with wings on their back. In order to blend in with normal humans, they use the springs of the Nannichuan and Nyannichuan. So, when it rains, they become... 'normal.'" Kazeya explained emotionlessly. 

"So that's why those two changed when it started raining..." 

"Exactly."

"But... how are they related to Akane's..." Nabiki couldn't say it. She choked up, and just gestured with her hand. Kazeya nodded at her sympathetically, knowing how hard it must be. The Nabiki of his time still had difficulties accepting it...

"They're the ones that killed her." Hikari said venomously. 

* * *

The Jusenkyo Guide was pacing about nervously. Back and forth, across the room one way, then diagonal, then back the way he first came. Plum should have been back by now... It was only luck (and some strangeness, but the Guide was used to that by now...) that those two young Customers from the future arrived. They said they needed to find a young man whom the Guide hadn't seen in over a year. 

"Try Nerima, Japan." He had told them, and they'd exchanged a glance. Then they asked what day it was, and when he told them, they grew very grim, and asked for his daughter. They explained that Plum would be gravely injured if she went to Japan with "Jusenkyo's Secret"... The Guide then believed them, as they described 'The Secret' in detail-- without ever having seen it! Plum agreed to take them as far as the main throughway, where they could hitch a ride to the nearest port, and then go to Japan. But, she had warned them-- they would not arrive in Japan for another several days... and even then, they would still be a good 300 KM or more from Nerima. 

They had only smiled and said it was fine… and had gone with Plum. The Guide hadn't seen any of them since. 

A terrible thought crept into the Guide's frantic mind—what if those "Customers" were really Phoenix People in disguise, and had assaulted –or worse, killed- the customers and Plum?!

"Plum…" The guide murmured. He looked out the window to the Springs. Oh, they could wait! If some damned fool fell into the Springs while he was gone, then it was his own fault for not being able to read Chinese!

With that thought firmly implanted in his head, the Guide rushed off to find his daughter and the two mysterious customers. If all else failed, then he had to go to Japan—and warn that other Mr. Customer of the Phoenix People—they were dangerous. 

* * *

A few hours had passed, and Hikari and Kazeya were alone with Akane and Ranma in the dojo. The "elders" of the foursome –Ranma and Akane- sat there in quiet embarrassment, while Kazeya and Hikari seemed to enjoy wandering about the room, touching the paneling, murmuring to each other every now and then. 

"Uhm… Hikari-san?" Akane ventured, looking up after a long while. 

"Hai, okaa-san?" Akane immediately blushed crimson again and looked down. She dared to look out of the corner of her eye at Ranma, and was perplexed by his expression—not that of embarrassment, but of… anger, and concern? 

_Trying to read his emotions is like trying to read a manga upside down and backwards. _

Akane sighed, and looked back up at Hikari. 

"Please, just Akane… I'm not… I mean I'm… yet…" Akane fumbled for the proper words to address her "future daughter" with. None came to mind. 

"Hikari's right, Ofukuro," Kazeya said, adding in his own crude honorific for 'mother.'  
"We never had the chance to honor you –alive or… otherwise, so now… now…"  
"But… I'm… I'm **your** age… and I'm not your mother…" Off their saddened stares, she added, "Yet." 

"Eh… If… if you guys are here to prevent Akane's death and all, how were you two born?" Ranma asked, finally looking up. He refused to meet Akane's gaze however, even when he felt her gaze boring into his cheek. 

  
"We never said mother died **at** Phoenix Mountain, did we?" Hikari responded, sighing.  
"The truth is, the Phoenix People are indirectly responsible for mother's death," Kazeya stated.   
"After everyone came back from the big fight at Phoenix Mountain, there was this… fiasco, and then mom started getting fevers a lot. Dad… uh, that is to say, Ranma," Kazeya thumbed towards his 'father,' "Got really worried, and wouldn't leave her side." 

Akane blushed yet again, turning away from Ranma. This once, he looked at her—a bit happy. If he had any say in it all, he'd **never** leave her side… despite what he usually ended up saying **out loud**. 

"Anyway, the old ghoul—" Hikari elbowed Kazeya in the side—hard—"**Cologne** said that Mom's body was slowly being depleted of its water—and without water, she'd die. The body's made up of over 75% water and all that, so she didn't have more than a year to go." 

"This really freaked out Oyaji—Uh, I mean Grandfather Soun—" Kazeya continued, "And he wouldn't stop crying. But for once, he wasn't in this big rush to marry you guys off, so…" Kazeya paused, looking befuddled. 

He whispered something to Hikari, and she smiled brilliantly.   
"Great idea! Hang on, let me get it!" Hikari rushed out of the dojo, presumably to get something, and came back, the Mirror of Change in her hand. Kazeya pulled out the Nanban Mirror, and explained to the two confused teens before them:

"It's better to explain events we weren't present at by **showing** them to you." 

With that said, he and Hikari began chanting something in Mandarin, and soon the room filled with bright light. Blinded as they were, Ranma and Akane had to shield their eyes until it all died down… and when it had, they were no longer in the dojo with Hikari and Kazeya… but in the Nekohanten. 

"What in the…?" 

Hikari's voice suddenly echoed in their heads, a disconcerting feeling, if you've never experienced it before. 

"In the original timeline, Father and Ryoga saved Plum from the Phoenix people. She brought with her the Jusenkyo map—the secret to Jusenkyo. That secret could make or break the Phoenix people; that's why they were after it. Watch." 

As the scene around them came into focus, Ranma saw himself—and Ryoga, Mousse, Cologne, and Shampoo. Sitting on a high stool was a small girl with violet colored hair tied in two braids. She had a large plum blossom in her hair, making her look very innocent—but her expression said otherwise. 

"The Bayankala mountain range in the Qinghai region of China. To the south of Mount Kensei, which holds Jusenkyo, stands Mount Phoenix. At the summit of Mount Phoenix… is a pool, cursed as the pools of Jusenkyo are cursed." Cologne was explaining with narrowed eyes. 

"Another pool… cursed like Jusenkyo?" The future-Ranma murmured in surprise. Cologne nodded, tapping her staff on the table she sat on. 

"According to ancient lore, the pool at the summit of Mount Phoenix was cursed… when one of the many birds surrounding the peak fell in and drowned."

At this, the past-Ranma looked to Akane. 

"Tell me how a bird can drown."   
"Hell if I know…" Akane murmured, shrugging her shoulders. They looked back to the table.   
"Do you think they can see us?" Akane whispered, leaning over her shoulder to speak to Ranma.  
" Hm… don't think so. I think the other me would be pretty freaked out by a double of him standing in the corner, whispering to his fiancée." Ranma grinned, and Akane nodded. 

"The villagers living at the foot of Mount Phoenix," Cologne continued, "Have used the spring's water as their water supply for generations. So it's not much of a surprise that in recent times the villagers near Mount Phoenix have grown wings." 

"I see… so these half-bird, half-man bodies are their original form, right?" Ranma mused. 

"Hey Plum," Future-Ranma turned to the small girl, "Why are those guys trying to dry up Jusenkyo?"

The little girl looked at Ranma sadly. 

"I don't know. I left home before finding out why." Plum explained.  
"Doesn't matter," Ryoga put in.  
"Ya got a plan, Ryoga?" Future-Ranma asked, a grin appearing on his face.  
"I don't care if they're half-bird or half-two-story-high-mechanized-wombats."

"Wombats?" Ranma stared at Akane, who looked to be suppressing a laugh. 

"We just need to knock a little sense into them," Ryoga grinned, holding his ten-ton umbrella over his shoulder as if it were nothing (because to him, it was nothing), "… and once we've made our point, Jusenkyo will be safe." 

Suddenly, Ryoga threw his umbrella at something, yelling "There they are! Thought you could sneak up on us, did you?!" 

"What?! They're here?" Future-Ranma and Mousse stood up, waiting for the dust to clear. 

There was a loud smashing, and when the dust cleared, Ryoga's umbrella was embedded in the Nekohanten's once-prized hand-carved mirror. 

From behind them, two irritated voices sounded, "We're over here you idiot!"  
"Yeah lost boy," Future-Ranma pointed, "Over there." 

"Maybe we should knock some sense into him instead? He need it." Shampoo commented, staring at the broken mirror. 

Ranma and Akane turned to look when the curtain was opened, and in strode in a beautiful winged woman, with light blonde hair, with white feathers sticking from it. She wore a skin-tight swimsuit-like outfit with leathery boots, all adorned with various jewels and ornaments. 

"Captain Kiima of Mount Phoenix." She said simply, smiling. The boys next to her, one dark-skinned and wearing a simple two-color outfit, the other, a light-skinned and unruly-haired one wearing a tiger-printed clothes, also introduced themselves. 

"The name's Masara."   
"I'm Koruma." 

Kiima glanced over her shoulders to some owls, hooting incessantly just outside. 

"Thank you for guiding us. Return home with our blessing." The birds gave a hoot in acknowledgement and flew off into the night. 

"Heh. Never thought you'd come here. Makes our job easier." Ryoga commented, cracking his knuckles eagerly.   
"Guess we're lucky you're just so stupid," Future-Ranma smiled. 

"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret saying that?" Ranma groaned, head in his hands. Akane patted him on the back and they retreated to the corner to watch. 

Kiima glared and surprisingly, laughed. 

"Kukuku… your bravado is quite entertaining to behold." She stated calmly. "it would seem that you're not going to just hand over the Jusenkyo map peacefully."

"Quite right." Future-Ranma grinned. Behind him, Mousse, Shampoo, and Ryoga got into ready stances. 

"How about a map to the Nerima Hospital? Hell, we'll even send you there for free!" Future-Ranma then charged towards Kiima and her two hatchlings. 

Akane unknowingly inhaled sharply, and Ranma, beside her, stared at her in wonder. Was she worried? 

Indeed, her fears were confirmed when Kiima began to float a few inches off the ground, her wings sticking straight out behind her. She pulled her arms around her chest, her feathers stiffening to her will. Future-Ranma was less than a foot away from her when her battle cry sounded. 

"Thousand Wings of the Seabird Attack!" Kiima thrust her wings forward, and a myriad of steel-tipped feathers flew towards Future-Ranma and his companions. 

Ranma and Akane, for their part, were startled by the white things whizzing by them, cutting through everything they came in contact with. Their barrier, which had once been a folding wall, was now in splintered boards. Ranma had quickly grabbed Akane by the shoulders and rolled on the floor with her, getting underneath a table so as to avoid the attacks. 

"R-Ranma…" Akane murmured from underneath him. Ranma flushed crimson and raised his head so it wouldn't seem as though he were **trying** to kiss her. When he did so, he banged his head on the table's underside, and he collapsed onto Akane's chest. 

Akane just lay there for a moment, frozen. Ranma, for his part, didn't dare to move either—even though not moving was asking for certain death too. All of a sudden, Akane let out a shriek, and pushed Ranma's head farther into her breasts. 

If Ranma was crimson before, he was flame-red now. Akane's hand rested lightly on his head, while the entirety of his face was pressed into the soft flesh that was her chest. Akane's eyes, he noted, glancing upwards, were shut tight, as if expecting something painful. 

He realized what had happened—one of the feathers had zoomed under the table—but it hadn't hit them, as it should have. Rather, the tip of the feather was embedded perfectly in the table leg directly behind Akane's head. 

He shifted lightly on top of her, and she opened her eyes. She too, noticed what happened, and looked at the feather bewildered. They slid out from underneath the table, and saw the battle was still going on, full throttle:

"Yeowch! These things are razor sharp!" Mousse yelled, jumping up in the air. Future-Ranma did the same, while Ryoga just managed to swing out of the way of a feather aimed for his neck. Instead, a tea brush took the blow for him, neatly slicing the head from the base. 

"Aiya! You'll never get the map!" Plum grabbed the Jusenkyo map and started running; a dangerous fact which both Ranma and Future-Ranma noted. Future-Ranma managed to jump in the way of a barrage of feathers meant for Plum, safely getting her –and the map—out of the way of danger. 

"Plum, look out!" He pressed her to the floor, but her hand, still extended in the air –and holding the map- was surrounded by feathers. The map promptly was shredded, and Plum stared, wide-eyed and in total disbelief. 

"Koruma! Masara! After it!" Kiima ordered. The two boys sprung up towards the pieces of the map, flying about the room. 

"Yes, sir!" They responded immediately, heading straight for Future-Ranma and Plum. 

"Holy…" Future-Ranma mouthed, cursing. 

"We can't lose the map!" Ryoga cried, hand enclosing on a piece. 

Ranma and Akane each tried to grab pieces as well, but they flew right through their hands!

"Don't you understand?" Hikari's voice echoed in their heads. "You're not really part of this time or place. You're on a separate plane, just watching the events as they happen. Neither of you have any control over what happens here… none of us do." 

Akane and Ranma exchanged a worried glance, and sat down to watch the rest of the events unfold. 

"Quickly, grab the pieces!" Mousse lunged for a bundle of the shreds, and grabbed a few, by complete chance. 

"One more time! Thousand—" Kiima was about to start her lethal attack once more, but was halted by a yell from Future-Ranma. 

"Slice and dice somewhere else, you feathered Cuisinart!" He came towards her, holding a heavy iron skillet and a steel colander, both with long handles meant for frying. 

"Iron skillets?" Kiima laughed. "Useless against my wings!" She threw her attack at him, and Future-Ranma was blown back. The skillets both had a good two-thirds blasted off, leaving only a crescent shaped hunk of metal attached to two wooded handles. 

"Take this!" Future-Ranma cried, somersaulting in the air to land. He threw the crescent shaped weapons at her, effectively pinning Kiima's spread wings to the wall. She stood there, pinned to the wall, a shocked expression on her face. 

"What magic is this?" Koruma muttered, his eyes wide.   
"The captain's been defeated! What do we do now?" Masara stared, his face a mask of anger and worry. 

"Defeated? Have some faith in your captain, you idiots." Kiima extracted herself from the wall and hit her two disciples on the head with the skillets that had been pinning her down. 

She turned to Future-Ranma, a scowl on her face. She let out a low growl, if it was possible for a bird-woman. Future-Ranma didn't like her too much either; that much was apparent. 

"You will pay for hurting my wings. Mark my words, we will meet again." Kiima scowled.   
"Koruma! Masara! To the skies!"  
"Yes Captain!" The boys responded. But they didn't fly of their own accord; rather, Kiima picked them up on their way out the hole in the wall. 

"Quickly, after them!" Future-Ranma charged. At that moment, Kiima appeared with a bucket of cold water in her hands. She splashed Ranma, Shampoo, Mousse, and Ryoga easily, while Cologne jumped out of the way easily. 

She stared at the retreating form of Kiima as she flew off. 

"Hmm… she will be back." 

"Aieee! It's a cat!!" Future-Ranko screamed, waving her arms like mad. 

Ranma and Akane sighed, and looked up to the ceiling. Suddenly, there was a bright light, and they found themselves…

"… home?" Akane murmured. Indeed, she and Ranma were transported to the Tendo home—Ranma's room, to be precise, where his future self was busily packing up. Shampoo was at his side, smiling like there was no tomorrow. Her arms were locked securely with Ranma's even as he tried to stuff some more clothing into his pack. 

Akane gasped and turned slitted eyes on the fiancée beside her. 

"Hey, don't look at me as if **I'M** doing something wrong—it's my future self!"  
"Exactly!" Akane humphed.

"Ranma, why are you packing?" 

The familiar voice caught Akane out of her stupor, as she found herself face to face with—herself. Her future self, that is. 

"Husband will be staying at the Nekohanten!" Shampoo chirped happily, squeezing Future-Ranma's arm harder.   
"Geez, it's only until this whole ordeal is over." Ranma sighed, stuffing another shirt into his pack.   
"I bet you're going to stay in the comfort of her arms until this whole 'ordeal' is over, aren't you?!" Future-Akane glared at her fiancée and bopped him smartly on the head with her fist. 

"Akane, you've got it all wrong!" Future-Ranma protested angrily, rubbing the bump now forming on his head. 

"As usual," Ranma smirked, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. His fiancée beside him let out a low growl, and dared Ranma to say anything further, and thus earn a beating similar to the one his future self was receiving at the moment. 

"It seems to be gene-inherent," Kazeya's voice spoke up. "Hikari jumps to conclusions all the time."   
"I do not, you dimwit!" Hikari screeched, a smashing echoing through Ranma and Akane's minds. They winced, knowing full well what happened. 

Ranma knew what his future self was probably thinking though: _Those bird creatures were going to come back for the map, and he couldn't risk getting the Tendos caught in the middle. They weren't, after all, cursed. _

"Only people involved are Jusenkyo cursed. So Akane has no business asking husband." Shampoo glared at Future-Akane, who stared blankly at the two of them. Akane glared at the future-Shampoo and muttered something about how they ate cats in some countries. 

"Jusenkyo… Ranma, what's going on?" Akane asked, a worried expression on her face. Only Ranma saw it—not his future self. He pulled his now-closed pack over his shoulders and said plainly, "In short, it has to do with my curse. I won't be able to come back for a while." Future-Akane gasped a little, her hand flying to her mouth. 

"Ranma, wait—" Akane said, holding out her hand. 

[Ranma] Genma-panda held up a sign, and Future-Ranma looked up. 

[Be careful, boy.] Ranma stared. 

"Oh yeah, Pop… you're coming along too! Now start packing!" Ranma started to beat on the panda-form of his lay-about father, and sent him growling to his room to pack. 

"Aiya! Panda also coming?" Shampoo looked down at the heap of black and white fur disdainfully. "How sad. No quality time alone with husband. I go home and start dinner instead." Shampoo said to herself as she jumped on her bike and rode off. 

Ranma and Akane looked out to the window, where Shampoo was leaving. 

"For some reason, I have a bad feeling." Ranma murmured. Akane nodded, but said nothing. 

Again, there was a flash of light, and the couple was transported—this time, to the dojo. Hikari and Kazeya sat before them, expressionless faces staring at them. 

"We're back… for real, this time?" Akane murmured. 

"Yeah… after that, Shampoo was attacked by Masara and Koruma, and turned into their servant. When she finally reappeared, no one knew what happened, so they thought she'd just gotten stuck in some kind of fight. As it turned out, Kiima had those two lackeys of hers turn Shampoo into a servant –a hatchling- that listened to whatever the first person she saw ordered her to do." 

"H-How do you guys know this?" Ranma asked suspiciously.   
"Simple, Shampoo told her." Kazeya said. Ranma was awaiting a further explanation, but none came. 

"This relates back to… to what ends up happening?" Akane asked, looking from her daughter to her son. It felt so strange even **thinking** that she had children, let alone twins who had the attitudes of Ranma and herself. But that she would die in the future, and that they were here to prevent that from ever happening…? 

"Yeah… but we can't show you anymore. The mirrors can only show you so much for a certain period of time. Now they have to 'recharge,' so to speak." Hikari explained. The two nodded, and stood up from the dojo floor. 

"How long were we?" Ranma asked, helping Akane to her feet. His hand still held onto hers, and she stared at the joining, however simple, with curious eyes. Ranma didn't seem to notice. 

"Not long at all," Kazeya grinned, "That's the beauty of coupling the mirrors together—no time passes while you're inside them." 

--

_Meanwhile, in the Qinghai Region of China…_

"Hey, old man! Isn't my bath ready yet!?" A rather obnoxious sounding youth's voice sounded, echoing off the linoleum tiles in the bath-house. This was the only bath-house near the Accursed Springs, and the one most in business, especially during tourist season, when plenty of gaijin idiots went to Jusenkyo and got themselves cursed. 

But now, it was empty, save an old man in odd robes, and a young boy toweled around the waist. The boy angrily threw a wash basin at the wall of the bath, which was empty of any water. 

"Please be patient for just a little while longer, my lord. Soon Kiima and her soldiers will be back with the Secret of Jusenkyo."   
The old man bowed furiously before the boy, knowing it was unwise to incur his wrath. The few old landlings that had dared to do so before they had overtaken this small bathhouse found themselves quite indisposed, miles from civilization and any hot water to bathe in. They were lucky they hadn't been dumped into a spring at Jusenkyo. 

"Dammit! They're too slow!"  
"Ye-Yes my lord… you have every right to be angry…" The old man bowed low, gripping tightly onto the wall of the bath. His lord's simple throwing of a plastic wash basin had opened a two-meter deep crack in the bath. 

--

The end of Part 2: Of Plums and Water. 

Coming up next, in "Saving Akane!" **_Act 3: The Hatchling_**

"What do you mean, it's happening too soon?" Ranma demanded. He cast a concerned glance at his fiancée, who was expressionless. As of late, when it came to matters of a 'future-family,' and her dying, she seemed pretty tight-lipped.   
"The Phoenix Prince –Saffron- he's already started to mature. By the time the soldiers here figure out what we've done with the secret of Jusenkyo, it'll be too late for us. Jusenkyo—"  
"…Will dry up completely," Ryoga finished, a grim expression on his face. 

EMAIL ME: azurite_moon@yahoo.com


	3. Disappear : Act 3 - The Hatchling

Saving Akane  
Part 3: Disappear…  
By Azurite [azurite_moon@yahoo.com]  
http://www.geocites.com/azurite_moon  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida

This fanfic, in no way, has anything to do with Saving Silverman or anything like that. O.o;;

Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama, Viz Communications, Shogakukan, Shounen Sunday, Kitty... etc. etc. Not me. But this fic belongs to me, so before you distribute it anywhere, please let me know. Same goes for anyone who has the sudden need to thank/congratulate/dance around/flame/hit me. You can always IM me, to save yourself time, too: AIM is Meriellen5.

This is a drama-romance, twisting the events of the final Tankubon of Ranma-- Volumes 37 and 38. I seem to be fond of doing that as of late... ^.^ Wuahahaa... [too bad there aren't EMSiTs for Ranma fics, ne? 'Course, with all the competition out there for _that_, I'd never get in… *sniff*]

* * *

Anything wrong with this tidy new HTML format? Do tell. I'm trying to make it simple, neat, and easy to read, compliant to Fanfiction.net's rules. The "code" used in this fic is as follows:

Emphasis  
Thoughts  
"Spoken"  
[Panda Signs]  
*Sound Effect/Action/Setting*

That's all, folks! Onwards with the story!

_Act 3: The Hatchling_

"The Jusenkyo Secret…" Hikari murmured, rifling through a small handbag she had with her. She withdrew a scroll wrapped tightly. The Phoenix People did not yet shred it; so far, they'd avoided that. But soon enough, the Phoenix people would figure out where she had gone. Of course, unless they were smart enough to realize that the strangers they'd been chasing since Jusenkyo had the ability to age at will with the Mirror of Change, well…

"Is everyone downstairs?" Hikari turned, standing up to her full height of 5'5". Kazeya nodded grimly; everyone involved in the Jusenkyo escapades—that is to say, Mousse, Shampoo, Ryoga, Genma, and Ranma—were all gathered downstairs. Where Shampoo and Mousse went, Cologne followed, especially in matters of importance such as this. The 'true identity' of Kazeya and Hikari had thus been disclosed, but none of the cursed ones –save Ranma, Genma, and Ryoga- knew of Hikari's metamorphosis from a child into a young woman. 

"Then we better get going." Hikari took one last look at the room, sighed, and walked out, sliding the shoji door shut behind her. 

As the two came downstairs, conversation below ceased. Cologne's eyes narrowed into slits, seeing Hikari a good eight years older than she had been in the restaurant. Since Kazeya's curse was already public knowledge to those present, it was no surprise to see him male—it was just the striking resemblance between the twins and their future parents. 

Akane and Ranma, both sitting next to each other and looking as uncomfortable as they had ever been, had remained silent while the Tendo sisters and patriarch, and all the cursed ones, in addition to Cologne, talked about the Phoenix people. A general consensus had been reached regarding the winged people of Jusendo—their arrival could not be halted. Damage would be done, but at all costs, the Secret of Jusenkyo had to remain intact and safe. It could not fall into the hands of the Phoenix People—the effect would be much greater than the Jusenkyo Springs simply "drying up." 

"Since we're all here…" Hikari started, settling down at the head of the table, Ranma and Akane to her right; Cologne, Shampoo, Mousse and Ryoga to her left. Soun and Genma were at the other end of the table, while Kazeya sat slightly behind her and to her right. Everyone had anxious expressions on their faces. 

Hikari produced her mirror, while Kazeya brought out the Nanban. Settling both face-up on the table, they spoke. 

"We could show you what would happen if the Phoenix People had gotten hold of the map—which they eventually did, following the attack on the Nekohanten that Ranma and Akane saw." Ranma and Akane both nodded at the memory. They'd skimmed over the details about what had happened in their "future" with the others, but leaving out the details—such as when Ranma's head had been buried in Akane's chest, or when Ranma had seen Akane's future self stare at his other future-self worriedly, as the latter packed. 

"But it's pretty obvious what would have happened next." Kazeya stated, his head falling. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noted how his future parents were both tense—sitting close to each other without being outwardly obvious about it. It seemed as though their father in this time was far different than the one they knew. 

Under his breath, Kazeya murmured something— "It's happening too soon…" Ranma knew full well that that meant, and immediately spoke up. 

"What do you mean, it's happening too soon?" Ranma demanded. He cast a concerned glance at his fiancée, who was expressionless. As of late, when it came to matters of a 'future-family,' and her dying, she seemed pretty tight-lipped.   
"The Phoenix Prince –Saffron- he's already started to mature. By the time the soldiers here figure out what we've done with the secret of Jusenkyo, it'll be too late for us. Jusenkyo—"  
"…Will dry up completely," Ryoga finished, a grim expression on his face. 

"We have to divide the map up between everyone here—even the Tendo sisters. Nabiki-san," Hikari began with a smile, addressing her aunt with respect, "We know that you could keep anything hidden from prying eyes at any cost, so we're giving you the vital part of the map." Hikari's tone was quieter than normal, and when she made a slight gesture to Kazeya, his eyes glanced to the open veranda. Shadows moved in the darkness, and he nodded back. They were here. 

Hikari pretended to hand Nabiki a paper, when in truth she still had the rolled up scroll in her hand, underneath the table. Upon Nabiki's suspicious and confused glance, Hikari passed Nabiki the scroll underneath the table. Nabiki pretended to read her portion of the scroll while she untied the real thing, and quietly shredded it into different shaped pieces. 

One for Kasumi. One for Genma, one for Soun. One each for Akane and Ranma; one for Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse. One for Ryoga, one for Hikari, and one for Kazeya. The last one, the one at the very bottom of the scroll, depicting the source of Jusenkyo's springs, was Nabiki's. Total, there were 12 pieces, making the scroll twelve times harder to steal. What was more, since Hikari and Kazeya already memorized the secret, if their pieces were stolen, then no harm would be done. It was only crucial that Nabiki's portion didn't get stolen. 

"Well," Kazeya stood, slamming his hands on the table rather loudly and abruptly, "Guess that takes care of _that_ then, huh?" With a quick nod to his sister, they turned, in ready stances, facing the veranda. The others stared at the empty black space bewilderedly, save Ranma, whose eyes narrowed upon catching sight of a floating feather. 

Kiima, who Kazeya and Hikari recognized all too well from the Shampoo and Mousse of their times' descriptions, stepped out from the blackness, a sardonic smile on her face. Her wings were spread out fully, their tips looking just as innocent as any other feather. Ranma and Akane both knew the opposite, having been to their "future" and seen her maelstrom of feathers. If she attacked…

"Akane… let's get out of here." Ranma murmured to his fiancée at his side. She stared up at him in surprise, but her gaze was not returned. Ranma was staring harshly at the winged figure in the doorway, and the two figures that appeared beside her, those of Koruma and Masara. The pigtailed boy took a step backwards, and Akane stumbled slightly beside him, a move that immediately caught Kiima's attention. 

"And just where do you think **you're** going?" Kiima asked snidely. She knew full well that each member of the party in the Tendo dining room had a piece of the map she desired, and she wouldn't let any of them escape. The birds in this region had told her tales about the dangerous martial artists—and the one who was looking to escape with that girl at his side—he looked to be the one the birds chirped about the most- the dangerous Ranma Saotome. 

Regardless of birds' rumors or the fact that these landlings outnumbered the Phoenix people present, they would be no matches for the Phoenix people. The only thing these blasted landlings had over them was the damned map…

"Run, Akane." Ranma said harshly, his gaze finally falling on Akane. She stared up at him in shock and bewilderment, but at her own son's same gaze piercing her, she did just that—dodging out the kitchen door behind her and then slipping back inside through the laundry room. Since the back door to the laundry room was rarely ever used, extensive growth of bush had covered the area up. If the Phoenix people saw her go in, she could just slip out the main way, and into the hallway—which could go any number of ways. 

"Split up!" Akane heard Ranma yell as a loud cry, almost like a crow's kaa, burst out. 

"After her!" Kiima's voice sounded, and Akane forced herself to run faster. They were after her now…

It seemed like an eternity later, Akane nearly suffocating in the small, damp closet underneath the stairs. But she had to remain still and quiet, if just to protect her portion of the lamp. 

In the dim light that filtered through the slats on the door, Akane stared at the map. The ancient, and now shredded scroll looked as though it had been drawn many centuries ago, though the paper remained thick and the ink black. The strokes were fine and brush-like, as though produced from a thin calligraphy brush. From what she could make out, there was the side of a mountain, a single pole, indicating a spring of Jusenkyo, and…

"A dragon's head?" She couldn't make out the writing next to the dragon's head, as the paper was ripped at that point, but the faint tracings of a character were there all the same. 

Akane was so engrossed in the image, trying to figure out what it could all mean and just **what** the Secret of Jusenkyo was, that she didn't notice when her light source vanished entirely. Her eyes quickly adjusted for the darkness, and she glanced up through the slats, her breathing becoming sharp, realizing someone was very close to the door. 

A voice came as a strained whisper—"Akane, are you there?" It was Ranma. Akane heaved a sigh of relief and slowly opened the door. She barely had time to think before he barreled into her, nearly slamming the door shut on his way in. 

"R-Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, startled. Her face was a crimson red as Ranma adjusted himself on top of her. Akane was torn between hitting him into Lower Earth Orbit (a noise which would surely bring the Phoenix people to their position) or just sitting there, motionless, waiting for him to do something. 

Akane opted for the latter. Ranma's warmth disappeared from her as the pigtailed boy forced himself up and stared down at Akane, whose face was still pink and red. Her eyes, though unable to see very clearly, bored right through him, daring him to say something. 

"…Kazeya and Hikari said they'd hold the Phoenix people off until they met up with us…" 

There was a loud crash and the growf of a panda outside. 

"Ranma, it's not like you…" Akane trailed off. She couldn't say 'running away,' but that was just what Ranma had done. Or what he'd been pushing **her** to do earlier, and now…?

"I wanted to make sure you were safe." Ranma said quietly, his voice void of any emotion. His seriousness startled Akane so that she had no reply, she simply stared up at him, wondering at what point he changed. 

"PSSST!" Akane and Ranma both gasped audibly and turned to the door, staring at the eyes that peered at them through the slats. Both exchanged a glance and crept closer to the door, opening it a fraction of an inch. Ranma wouldn't budge from his position in front of Akane: a protective stance, if anything. 

Kazeya and Hikari were hunched near the door, both looking a bit worse for the wear. Ranma scowled, not liking being left out of the fight. But what Kazeya had told him earlier—that if he didn't watch Akane, she'd get kidnapped—had forced him to rethink his tactics. The situation at the time appeared to be as good as any to exploit the 'Saotome Secret Technique.' 

"How goes the fight?" Ranma asked. He didn't want to involve the Tendos, and he was already glad enough that his mother wasn't here, and had instead gotten the old Saotome house fixed up. Genma just happened to be visiting tonight, normally staying with his wife in their newly built house. 

"The Amazons seem to be holding up okay." Kazeya said, his voice containing a tinge of disgust. Hikari glared at her brother and jabbed him cleanly in the ribs, and he glared back at her. 

"Here." Kazeya said breathlessly, withdrawing the cracked Nanban mirror from his shirt. Ranma took it with some care, having not handled the mirror in quite a long time. As he stared into his shattered depths, his reflection refracting and showing an odd, disfigured Ranma back at him, Hikari pulled out her mirror. 

She murmured something that sounded like "Oumiika watara wamisumiaka aka…" and the Mirror of Change burst out in a brilliant white light. Kazeya quickly tried to cover up the light show, but the attentions of the three Phoenix fighters were now drawn to the small hallway between the living room and the stairs. 

"There! Get them!" Kiima called, while battling off advances from Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne. 

Koruma and Masara were too engaged fighting Soun, Genma, and Ryoga, while Nabiki and Kasumi had taken their chances and made an escape in the melee. 

"You fools!" Kiima cawed, thrusting herself upwards into the air. Though the hallway was small, it was enough space for Kiima to propel herself into the air and up—flying straight towards Ranma, Akane, Kazeya and Hikari like she intended to dive bomb them. 

"NOW!" Kazeya's voice called, and the Nanban mirror, in unison with the Mirror of Change, both burst forth a blinding light that engulfed the whole corridor. 

--

"Wh-Where…?" Akane murmured. She felt as though a ten-ton mallet had whacked her in the head—hard. She smiled at the irony of it all, and got up on shaky legs. Ranma was nowhere to be found. Neither were Kazeya and Hikari, or the Phoenix people, for that matter. It was unnerving. She knew Ranma had wanted her to escape, but… alone?

A low moan came from behind Akane, and she turned around abruptly, nearly fainting from the shock. 

--

Ranma found himself lying in the Tendo family living room. He got up with a groan, feeling as though he'd been sent to Upper Earth Orbit care of Akane Airlines. But there was no telltale hole in the roof to mark any kind of descent (or ascent, for that matter). Ranma shook his head and the pain away, and suddenly remembered what had happened. 

"Akane…?" If she was in the vicinity, she wasn't visible. Ranma remembered what Kazeya had said about 'not being part of the plane' that they traveled to—that was what had happened, right? They'd been transported to some nameless time, probably in the future?

"Damn her… damn her…" Ranma was startled to hear his own voice cursing aloud. When he saw his "other-self" pacing the room in what looked like worry, Ranma moved forward. He grinned at his other self, and stood only a yard away. When his other self began to pace once more, he walked right through Ranma—a feeling that left Ranma standing stock still and shaking. 

"Weird." 

"That's it!" The other-Ranma said with exasperation. His routine halted, he stomped upstairs to the room Ranma recognized all too well—Akane's. Maybe Akane –that is to say, _his_- er, the Akane from _his time_ would be here. Ranma followed his other self diligently, wondering what all the fuss was about. He noticed on the trek upstairs that his other self had something in his hand—and for a moment, he wondered what it was. 

"Akane, I'm coming in!" Ranma announced. Without a second's delay, he did just that—and the other Ranma behind him stared in shock at the sight before him. 

"Damn you…" Other-Ranma murmured, rushing forward. Akane lay on the bed, covered like a polar bear in layers upon layers of blankets. She was sweating from the heat, and her face was flushed red—she had a fever. Other-Ranma placed his hand on her brow and pulled it off immediately. His eyes fell on a small brown pill on the side of Akane's bed, and a full glass of water, and his gaze shifted from concerned to upset. 

"All you had to do was take the damn pill, Akane…" Other-Ranma murmured. Ranma was staring at the scene with some concern and worry; what had caused Akane to get this sick? Were they in the past… or the future?

"Ranma!" Akane's voice sounded, and Ranma whipped around, face to face with the Akane from his time. 

"Thank god, I thought you were—"

"Me too," Akane smiled, embracing Ranma tenderly, "Me too. I'm glad you're okay." 

Shocked, Ranma stood stock still, accepting Akane's hug, but not returning it in kind. Rather, his eyes became fixated on the back of his other self, who was kneeling over Akane as he murmured something to her in hushed tones. 

"…Why, Akane?" 

"It… hurts…" The invalid Akane murmured, her head lolling to one side. Her eyes were barely open, and despite Other-Ranma's attempts at cooling her down with a cool cloth, she was still sweating and feverish. 

"Your throat? You can't do something as simple as swallow a pill?" Other-Ranma asked with a frustrated tone. He grabbed the glass of water and tilted Akane's mouth open, pressing the pill into the back of her mouth. At the moment he tried to pour so much as a milliliter of water into her throat, Akane started to convulse and cough horribly, spitting the pill out. 

"Akane! You won't get better if you don't take the damn pill!" Other-Ranma growled, exasperated. His face betrayed the level of concern and worry he felt for his sick fiancée, and his closeness to her proved that he didn't care if he got sick; all that mattered was her health. 

Ranma had since turned and face the scene, and dared to wrap his arm around Akane's shoulder, pulling her close. He remembered what Kazeya had said—their mom –or Akane- had gotten dangerously sick with fevers caused by the Kinjakan evaporating water in her body. Dad –or Ranma- had stayed by her side constantly, waiting for the day when she would get better. But she never did. 

"Then I won't get better… baka." Other-Akane coughed. It was obvious how raw and sore her throat was from her raspy voice, and the noise of gurgled saliva as she tried to speak. 

Other-Ranma only looked angry for a moment before a smile –guilty and concerned- broke over his features. 

"H-Hey, don't say stuff l-like that. It's really not funny." Other-Ranma bent his head down, even as Other-Akane weakly tried to force herself to sit up. She stared with some level of awe at her fiancée, having only seen him this concerned over her once before—or rather, heard him this concerned… and that was when…

"Hey… I…" Other-Akane murmured, her voice sounding slightly smoother, "I didn't mean it. Besides, no stupid fever is going to be the end of me… I still have a dojo to inherit!" She attempted a smile, at which Other-Ranma looked up and returned. With an almost shy smile becoming his face, he asked, "So does that mean you'll take the pill?" 

Akane sank back into her pillows and groaned. 

"I'd rather sweat it off, if it was all the same to you," Other-Akane moaned, pulling a fallen blanket onto her. With the sleeping bag, down comforter, knit blanket, and wool covering over her, she was hotter than a turtle in the Sahara. But none of that mattered—she had to sweat off her fever. But she'd never had a fever quite this bad before…

"It's NOT all the same to me!" Other-Ranma exclaimed, startling his past self in the corner. The twosome had been watching the proceedings with quiet curiosity, wondering what was going on. 

Other-Ranma opened his hand and pulled out another small brown pill from a glass jar, and slipped it into his own mouth. Other-Akane stared at him for just a moment before her fiancée's mouth clamped over hers. 

--

"Something's wrong." Kazeya murmured. Hikari and himself were the only ones still in motion in the entire house—everyone else was frozen in the last position they'd been in before the bright lights of the combined mirrors had flashed. Even Kiima remained motionless, in mid-flight. Only seconds later, she would have attacked Ranma and Akane, and no amount of speed on Ranma's part would have saved them. 

"Aren't we supposed to just freeze, and then Mom and Dad just…" Hikari gestured with her hands, "*Poof*?" 

"*Poof*?" Kazeya raised an eyebrow in question. 

"Yeah, like last time, when we showed them what happened at the Nekohanten," Hikari explained, referring to the last time they'd sent Ranma and Akane through the mirrors to show them the future. 

"… The mirrors are getting old." Kazeya murmured after a moment. The excuse hardly sounded any more plausible in his head than it had when he said it. 

Hikari shook her head in disagreement; "No… it's not that…" She looked into the refracted depths of both mirrors, her reflection disjointed and misshapen. 

"It's not that at all." 

--

"Mmmf?" Other-Akane murmured before succumbing to Other-Ranma's "kiss." Quite easily Other-Ranma forced the pill into her mouth with his tongue, and for what seemed like a moment or more too long, the kiss was more than just a way to get Other-Akane to take a pill. 

Standing stunned near the closet door of Akane's room, the past-Akane and Ranma stared. They both took one look at each other, blushed, and turned away, forcing their gazes to be anywhere but on their future selves or each other. After a moment, when no sound came from either their future-selves or their fiancée, Ranma and Akane dared to look forward. Other-Ranma pulled his lips away from Akane, and groaned, exasperated. 

Other-Akane was sound asleep, a peaceful smile on her face. Her face wasn't nearly as flushed as before, but it was still raging hot. This had been going on for over a week now; Ranma was more than worried. 

"Akane… I won't let you leave me. Not again." Ranma murmured, standing. From the expression on his face, he didn't like what he was about to do, but it was one of those tough-it-up situations when you had no other choice. Ranma strode out of the room, his past self following at close quarters. 

"Ranma!" Akane yelped, unable to follow. She tried, reaching the doorway, but was held back by an invisible barrier of sorts. 

"Kuso… I guess we can't leave the place where our future self is… keep watch after your future-self—yah!" Ranma was dragged rather forcibly after his future self, who was leaping onto the Tendo compound fence and away from the house. 

--

"Wonder where the hell my future-self's going anyway…?" Ranma wondered. He followed his other self along the fence quite agiley, wondering how his future self was balancing without some amount of concentration. Ranma's unspoken question regarding his future-self's concentration was quickly answered when a "W-Woaaah!" came from him, and both of them toppled into the canal below. 

--

"What happened to myself… my… future self," Akane corrected, "That I became so sick?" It would cause the death of her, and yet it seemed like a normal fever. Akane, at this point, had far too many questions, and not enough answers. Kazeya and Hikari obviously weren't here, yet this was obviously the future. 

'Maybe… the future they were trying to prevent? They did say something about me getting fevers… and the Phoenix people were indirectly responsible for them, and it lead to my…' Akane's thoughts halted where they were. She remembered what her future self has murmured so softly before her fiancée had kissed her—that is, forced a pill down her throat. 

Akane blushed at the mental image, and glanced at her future self. The fever that Ranma had helped reduce with his pill seemed to come back full force- Akane's future self was red once more, and sweating immensely. A soft moan came from her parted, dry lips as she thrashed about in her sleep. Her left hand emerged from the pile of covers, and Akane stared at the palm in wonder—

A strange scar was there, flat, and shaped like a crescent, with elaborate designs on it. Like…

"A burn…?" 

That was all Akane had time to observe when she heard a noise from downstairs. 

--

"You owe me this much, Old Ghoul. Destroying my wedding, helping get rid of my cure…" Ranma was growling at the old crone who hobbled into the Tendo compound on her withered staff. 

"Ranma," Cologne began, startling the boy –she didn't call him 'Son-in-law'-- "I never said I wouldn't help you. It's just a matter of whether I **can** or not." Upon returning from Jusendo, Shampoo had related the events of the past few days to Cologne—everything, including how Akane had sacrificed her life to save everyone. She'd withered into a doll, with no water in her body, and nearly died, even in that shrunken form. Yet Ranma had somehow saved her… 

And now, after the failed wedding, Ranma had quit his boycott of Team China, and went to the Nekohanten, seeking help. 

"Akane's sick," He'd started, "I want you to help." It was less of a request than a demand, and considering Ranma had defeated the legendary Prince of Phoenix Mountain, and held a sort of power over them at this point, Cologne was forced to accept his demands. Shampoo hadn't said a word to Ranma the entire time he was in the Nekohanten—she'd stared at him with wide, violet-maroon eyes, tears brimming on her lash-line. She'd then disappeared into the kitchen, the soft sounds of dishes being done filling the empty Nekohanten. 

Ranma hadn't come to forgive her. She couldn't bring herself to apologize, even though in her heart of hearts it was what she wanted to do. But the only thing that kept her going, despite the fact that Ranma outright ignored them –her- was that one day, she'd forget about the idiotic ideals of her people, and apologize for the honest mistake she made. 

One day…

Cologne had left the restaurant in Shampoo's "capable hands," and hobbled after Ranma to the Tendo home. 

--

"…upstairs." Only a fraction of a second later, the door to Akane's bedroom was opened, and to Akane's surprise, Ranma –and his future-self—stood there, with Cologne in tow. The elder of the Amazons came forward and stared down hard at Future-Akane's still form. Sweat still dripped down her face, which was flushed redder than it had been before. 

"Boy, leave here. I must examine her." Cologne said harshly. Future-Ranma crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Cologne. 

"I understand you do not trust me, Ranma," Cologne began simply, "But you must, just this once, if I am to save her. If I even CAN save her… I must assess why she is sick." Off Ranma's still-suspicious glare, she continued, "I don't think Akane would take lightly to you staring at her naked form while she is being examined for sickness." With that, Ranma stepped out of the door, and before past-Akane could get a word in edgewise to her fiancée, they were both gone. 

Akane turned and looked at her future-self in the hands of Cologne with worry. Suffice it to say, she hadn't expected this. A local doctor; Kasumi, maybe… but Cologne?

Cologne undid Future-Akane's pajama top, and spread her arms apart. Akane stared in wonder at the left hand palm. The same burn mark which had caught her attention earlier now was in Cologne's plain view—and the old crone stared at it in shock. 

"No… not the Kinjakan…" Cologne murmured, inspecting Akane's hand. She pressed her fingers into future-Akane's soft flesh, and dropped the lifeless hand back to the bed. 

"No…" 

--

Hikari and Kazeya stared at the mirrors, as if waiting for something to happen. And something did. In what was surely only a matter of moments, Kiima fell to the floor and stared up angrily at Kazeya and Hikari, quite noticeably aware that Akane and Ranma had disappeared. 

"Those mirrors," She started, her voice a low growl, "Give them to me." 

"Heh! Over my dead body!" Kazeya smirked, dropping into a ready stance. He quickly shoved the mirror away into his shirt, behind a small spatula that Mom—Ucchan—had given him. Should Kiima try to break the mirror and thus trap Ranma and Akane (despite the fact that they had two vital pieces of the map—those depicting the dragon tap and the phoenix tap), the mirror would be well protected. 

"That's the idea, landling!" Kiima crowed, and charged forward. But before Kazeya and Hikari could prepare for an attack, or even assemble some sort of a defense, bright light came forth from the two mirrors once more. When all had dimmed, Kazeya and Hikari were gone. 

----------------------------------------------------------------

The end of Part 3: Disappear 

EMAIL ME: azurite_moon@yahoo.com

^^ I liked this chapter. It was fun to write. I'm glad I'm getting parts of this out so often… And now that ffnet's upped its Microsoft Word formatting, I can have all the nice ellipses (…) and such without hassle. Plus it's easy to post on my webpage… which I would very much like for you to visit!

http://www.geocities.com/azurite_moon

Coming up in the next Scene of Act 3: The Hatchling, and Chapter 4 of "Saving Akane:"

There was a bright flash accompanied by that familiar feeling of nausea. Ranma and Akane, gripping onto each other for dear life (and dear sanity) toppled to the floor like leaves in a windstorm. When they came to again, distant voices got louder—and the scenery of a home decorated for a wedding assailed them. 

I have to try and stop giving so much away in these "coming up" segments. I try to utilize them as much as I can for inspiration, but I'd hate to say "coming up next" and then not use the scene described at all (which is what I almost did with this chapter… ehehe…). Therefore, this is the last "sneak peak" you'll see—don't worry though, I have everything for SA planned out nice and tidy-like, so look forward to the next several parts in the uh, next several weeks *bright smile* Yeah! 

Azurite 


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